Business Certifications: Are They Worth It?
In 2018, I, on behalf of my company Wax, applied for certifications from the City and County of Denver, Division of Small Business Opportunity. I was really just going for the Women-Owned status because, well, I was proud and wanted to show off. I ended up with 4 certifications in total.
M/WBE: The Minority/Women Business Enterprise certification affords small businesses the opportunity to compete for contracts. It is race- and gender-conscious. The applicable size standard shall be one hundred percent (100%) of the SBA size standards based on the gross annual receipts averaged over five (5) years or the average of employees over twelve (12) months based on the SBA standards for the specific NAICS code(s). At least 51% of your company ownership must be members of economically and socially disadvantaged groups (Women, Hispanic, Asian, Black, Native American).
SBE: The Small Business Enterprise certification allows Denver area small businesses to compete for construction-related and a wide range of goods and services being procured by the City and County of Denver. It is race- and gender-neutral.*
DBE: The Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) certification affords small businesses who meet the definition of disadvantaged an improved opportunity to compete for contracts. It is race- and gender-conscious. As of March 1, 2022, your annual revenues must not exceed an overall cap of $28.48 million, averaged over three years. At least 51% of your company ownership must be members of economically and socially disadvantaged groups (Women, Hispanic, Asian, Black, Native American).
EBE: The Emerging Business Enterprise (EBE) certification allows Denver area emerging businesses to compete with other emerging businesses on specific construction and professional services projects. It is available to firms already certified as MBE/SBE/SBEC/WBE, and it is race- and gender-neutral.*
(*Notably, Wax is not a construction company.)
On Denvergo.org the certifications are touted as "a rigorous, but highly valuable, process of obtaining a credential for your business growth. Obtaining one or more certifications assures the world that your business is ready to participate on public contracts, and qualified to perform at a high level."
I’m not sure how I feel about this statement. Yes, it was rigorous. The paperwork you must gather and upload will break your brain. It takes a long time. I didn’t get it right the first two or three tries and kept having to submit additional documentation. A woman came to my home office and interviewed me for a couple hours. I guess to make sure all things were legit over here at Wax. The certifications need to be updated every year with an additional fee, and every three years you have to go through the entire brain-breaking process all over again. (Except nobody came to interview me last time, maybe because covid, I don’t know.)
For all that, I wanted like an insignia or a badge or some gold stars. Just to prove I endured the pain of obtaining these precious certifications. However, I didn’t get anything besides the right to say “I am hereby certified as a woman with a business!” (I feel less expressive about being “disadvantaged” or “small” or “emerging”. Those feel less awesome, and I’m not exactly sure what they’re for or what they get us as a marketing company.)
I also got a lot of emails. Like, a TON of emails for “bids that are relevant to your business” that are not actually relevant. Internet service bids. Bids for Operation Services Exterior Lighting Code/Night Sky Assessment Services. Bids for ERate Cat2 Switches and WAPs (???!!). And invitations to bagels-n-business from the Department of Transportation & Infrastructure for women in construction. Oh and the Purchasing Division emails me often to introduce me to Purchasing’s policies and procedures.
As a reminder, I am a creative professional who does brand strategy and creative marketing campaigns. My company, Wax, would do a terrible job working on your ERate Cat2 Switches I’m pretty sure.
There ARE some relevant emails though, having to do with Brand, Marketing, Creative Campaigns, and Communications. Those are great and have indirectly led to some doors opening. (They’re just tough to find in the middle of Jefferson County Broadband Study solicitations and the like.)
While it’s not prohibitively expensive (it does cost around $200 to apply, but just $50/year after that) I still don’t know if they’re worth it. I can’t say I’ve gotten a lot of traction from my four certifications other than bragging rights. On the other hand, I do enjoy those bragging rights and maybe someday they will pay off.
At the very least, it is validating that our city recognizes extra efforts are necessary to lift up businesses that have not historically had the same access to capital and other business-building tools and strategies. Hopefully, it will help tilt the scales in the direction of a more diverse entrepreneurial landscape in Denver.
So has the world been assured that my business is ready to participate on public contracts, and qualified to perform at a high level, as Denvergov.org states?
Who knows. If not, certainly this blog assures it, right?
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